There are times when an actor or actress is so convincing in their role that you
are immediately captivated by their performance and want to see more. Over the
years, I’ve amassed a list of actors and actresses’ whose work I’ve followed
over the years. One of those is Angelina Jolie. I’ve seen and enjoyed most of
her movies. So, when I was running a search for another movie she was in and Without Evidencecame up, I was surprised. Here was an Angelina Jolie movie
I hadn’t seen! Well, you know I just had to get my hands on it to check it out.

The movie actually centers around
Kevin Francke, Michael’s brother, who has suspicions about the way Michael’s
murder case is being handled. Upset by the police department’s
lack of leads
and follow-up, Michael moves to the area so he can be closer to the
investigation, only to learn that the police
are deliberately ignoring valid
evidence in support of their own theory. Kevin, remembering that Michael was
worried about corruption
within the Oregon Department of Corrections the last
time they met, is determined to uncover evidence of a state-wide cover-up of
what really happened to his brother on the night of his murder.

Scott Plank
portrays the role of
Kevin Francke with the intensity of a man obsessed, yet somehow manages to look
sexy at the same time. Andrew Prine
is John Nelson, a television reporter
who
believes Kevin’s insistent cries of cover-up. Anna Gunn
is Liz Godlove, former
girlfriend of Tim Natividad, the man she believes may have actually murdered
Michael Francke. Unfortunately, no one can question this man - his
ex-girlfriend had killed him in self-defense a short time after the Francke
murder.

Oh, you’ll remember that I wanted to
see this movie because Angeline Jolie was in it. Without Evidence marks
one of Angelina’s early feature film roles. She portrays Jodie Swearingen, a
junkie who may or may not have witnessed Francke’s murder. Her multiple
statements to police name Frank Gable as the killer and she was a key witness
in
Gable’s trial. However, statements to Kevin and John Nelson contradict what she
stated to police and seem to point toward Natividad. Unfortunately we don’t get
to see much of her - a few scenes in which she shows how masterfully well she
can portray a junkie
- distracted, freaked out and totally ADD-ish. A great job
on a role that is unfortunately too short for someone of Jolie’s talents.

Without Evidence, while
intriguing as an unsolved mystery (Gable was convicted, but he still claims
innocence and has a large following of people who believe his claims), this film
plays out as an 80s made-for-television movie. The film is a tad off visually
as though this was created on a very low budget. The sound is also a bit off.
The story is intriguing, but there is a bit of a Swiss cheese
feeling about the
whole thing - as if certain parts were left out while others were focused on to
make the film more dramatic and appealing to audiences.

And then there is the annoying lack
of an ending - the film just stops at a certain point without warning. This is
a drama based on a true story. Why wouldn’t you at least end the film with a
few words appearing on the screen like, “Frank Gable was sentenced to life in
prison for the murder of Michael Francke on January 17, 1989. To this date, he
still maintains his innocence. A one million dollar reward has been offered for
information about this case…blah, blah, blah.” Instead, the film simply ends at
a scene and the credits role. One could argue that the film creators wanted
movie-goers to have a lack of closure mimicking that of the Francke family, but
I doubt these folks were all that clever about this ending. I think they just
didn’t have the imagination or the wherewithal to find a decent way to close the
film.

Without Evidence is one of
those films that I actually regret having paid for. This would have been
something I would rather have watched on Lifetime or
truTV. Definitely not
worth the money I paid for the DVD…unless that money is used to aide in
re-opening the Michael Francke murder case. You see, although the movie wasn’t
exactly up to par, it did serve to convince me of one thing - the man behind
bars for this murder may in fact be innocent. This is the only point on which
anyone could call the film Without Evidence a success.